This week turned out to be a school testing week. Monday exploring a new way home a mall we found a small preschool at the bottom of an office building. The girls enjoyed the sandbox while Mommy talked with the owners. We were offered a trial class on Tuesday.

So Tuesday Grace and Jasmin went for the afternoon. Jasmin was pretty consistent that she didn't want to go again, and Grace told about the English class they had, "But I didn't need it because I'm already English."

Wednesday we went to the playgroup for the home schooling group at our church. We were told 9am, but nothing really happened until 10 - there was only one other child there the first hour! then suddenly there was 24 kids and accompanying adults... the room got very crowded and loud! Jasmin stayed on my lap most of the morning a bit intimidated and bored as the program was rather beyond her. Grace's summation: "We learned about... what was that word again?" "Africa" "Africa. Why do people in Africa not have the Bible?"

Thursday we visited another playschool that we only just discovered even though we live right next door! It is tucked in the back of a Korean International school, and buses are usually parked in front of it - that's why we didn't see it before. They offered us a free trial Friday.

So Friday morning we tried it out. Grace reminded me about it often from the moment we got up till we left - anxious not to be too late! In the door and they both took off to play without a backwards glance! When Mommy went to pick them up, Grace was so excited about her morning she was yelling, and once we got out the gate, she announced, "I want to go there every day! Not Saturday or Sunday but Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday." Jasmin was too hungry to give a proper thought about her morning right away, but once she'd had lunch she was positive about going again.

Grace isn't likely to get to go 5 days a week - she might be ready but Mommy's not and Jasmin's not ready for her sister to be gone every morning either. But with such a response, it hard not to think of making a morning or two work at least.

Something you never expect to see:

...that's chocolate cake she's passing up for raw broccoli!!

That's Jasmin for you. We're proud of her :)

Tea Party!

No dolls allowed :)

Mommy's typing away at email and the girls are playing... the play nears the "need Mommy" stage and she hears things like "Let's hide from my Mommy" and "NO, let's scare her!" The next thing that registers with Mommy is the girls exiting their bedroom with a bang and a breathless, "Mommy! There's a bird in our room!" Wide eyes and tight bodies say this isn't play to scare Mommy. And sure enough, a peek inside reveals a pigeon sheltering from the wind.
Mommy's pleased reaction slowly won over the girls who weren't sure whether to be upset, afraid, or pleased. Jasmin especially: But Mommy found some sunflower seeds to offer this lost pigeon. Grace is convinced it is someone else's pet because it has bands on both feet.
It pleased the girls immensely by eating a few seeds before deciding to explore. It wasn't really that afraid of us, just a slow waddle away if we got too close - which was pretty near!
After following it around the house, the girls considerately left it alone in their bedroom and played in Mommy's room instead. It has settled down under Jasmin's bed... Grace wants it to stay and lay eggs to watch hatch...
Mommy is learning just how much Grace and Jasmin know: Jasmin keeps saying "shh" to loud Grace, and Grace is telling us that when the eggs hatch, we have to stay away so the pigeon won't peck our feet protecting its babies :)

Jasmin just read her first word!

"bamboo"

There has been a lot of "reading" going on lately: the memorized kind, but this was very real. A below the breath working through of the letters and sounds and then putting it together.

Who would have thought it would be Jasmin who "clicked" with reading first?
Of course, she is very much her own person, so any encouragement is likely to receive stubborn refusal to try anything more.

Grace isn't far behind as she has a daily growing repertoire of sight words and is intensely interested in writing...

"Pet" Stories

Now that it is monsoon season (not that we've really had any major storms yet), we do have more wind and rain. One afternoon the wind was particularly strong and this pigeon sheltered on one of our corner window sills until the wind died down some.

The way our apartment is laid out, we had an excellent view... the girls were convinced it liked them and wanted to be their pet :)


Yesterday, on our way to a mall, we discovered a stray kitten. Bone thin, but pretty clean and saucy. Grace was very concerned that it was lost and couldn't find its way home. We fed it some ampao (rice cake-type snack with peanuts in it). Thankfully Grace and Jasmin are not yet asking to bring home strays (although Jasmin was calling it her pet)! Daddy is highly allergic to cats and our building doesn't allow pets.

Speaking of allergies... I posted a while ago that I had been diagnosed with "pollution allergy." Well, for a week now I have been clear of rash without medication or lifestyle modification, and longer than that for breathing well! Since the pollution situation hasn't changed, it must be that God has seen fit to adjust my body to be able to live here well. Only on the very bad days when I must exert myself do I feel any breathing restriction, which is quite livable.

Daddy was in Jakarta this week, so things were a bit different than normal. He managed to miss three holidays in that one week: the inauguration day for the new Philippine President, Pasig Day (the area of Manila we are in), and Canada Day! This also made the week different - and helped us survive a whole week without Daddy.
He came home late last night, so the girls didn't see him till this morning. They climbed into bed with us. "Morning, girls." said Daddy. He got monotone "Hi"s back. Then a quick look at each other and a dive over Mommy onto Daddy, "Daddy! I missed you!"

Unpacking Daddy turned dressup

Playing with the magnet turtles from Jakarta. We have hatched them, discovered what is metal, learned how to spell - and say! - Jakarta, and now they are busy hatching all their animals...